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“It’s never too late”: Anthony Anderson graduates from Howard University

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

What’s been 30 years in the making, Anthony Anderson can finally say he’s a college graduate.

The Black-ish alum, 51, shared an inspiring message Sunday on Instagram celebrating his graduation from Howard University this past weekend.

“This spring I was finally able to complete the work to graduate from Howard University with a BFA degree from the Chadwick A Boseman College of Fine Arts!” Anderson wrote. “Yesterday was a full circle moment. It’s never too late! Things happen when they’re supposed to happen!”

He also expressed, “To quote Biggie, ‘IT WAS ALL A DREAM!’ Words can’t begin to describe the emotional roller coaster I’m on right now. It’s literally been 30 years in the making.”

In a 2018 interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Anderson revealed that he dropped out of college due to financial reasons.

The Law & Order star went on to thank the people who helped him accomplish this milestone, including Phylicia Rashad, who this time last year was named dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, and his Hustle & Flow co-star Taraji P. Henson, who served as the university’s commencement speaker.

The actor also thanked his son, Nathan, who he said inspired him to “return to school to finish my degree after he was accepted into Howard University.”

Anderson concluded the post with one final uplifting message, writing, “This is just the beginning!”

Watch the trailer for the new FX documentary about Tupac and his mom, ‘Dear Mama’

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

In addition to the many Mother’s Day tributes that flooded the internet on Sunday, FX unveiled the trailer for a new docuseries about late rapper Tupac Shakur and his activist mother, Afeni Shakur, called Dear Mama.

The short clip shows a few images of a younger Tupac, accompanied by a voice-over by Afeni, who tells a story about a lesson she once taught her son.

“It was my responsibility to teach Tupac how to survive his reality,” she says in the clip. “So, Tupac do something wrong — take your little sorry self in that corner, get The New York Times and let’s have a debate about it. Not a discussion, a debate. Let me hear what your idea is, stand up, defend it.”

In a press release shared by Hot New Hip Hop, FX says the five-part docuseries is “told through the eyes of the people who knew them best,” adding, “[The series is] an intimate wide-angle portrait of the most inspiring and dangerous mother-son duo in American history, whose unified message of freedom, equality, persecution and justice are more relevant today than ever.”

Set to direct the series is Allen Hughes, who won a Best Music Film Grammy for the HBO docuseries The Defiant Ones, and who’s credits also include The Book of Eli and the classic ’90s film Menace II Society.

Jack Harlow announces tour, speaks about the importance of humility

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Even though Jack Harlow‘s career is taking off, he’s keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground.

Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Harlow admitted he’s enjoying the financial freedom that’s come with his newfound fame. “I think my biggest concern right now is getting everyone I care about secure. And sadly, it’s just, it’s very financial. Taking the weight off people I care about shoulders feels really good in the most simplistic way,” he shared.

The “Industry Baby” collaborator explained his financial support doesn’t necessarily mean fancy gifts, but by taking care of things like bills and rent. “You can just liberate people,” said Harlow. “The best part of having money is not thinking about money. It’s not about the cars. It’s not about the jewelry. It’s not about the flex. It’s about the security. It’s about being able to say, ‘Well, I don’t have to stress about that,’ because that is weighing so many people down.”

He says being able to share that feeling with those he cares about is one of the best things in life. That also helps him to stay grounded.

Harlow notes that what goes up always comes down — even his career. “The world’s going to turn on me soon,” he said. “I’m just saying, inevitably, that’s what happens.”

Harlow says he has a “good feeling” that he’ll make a comeback because he’s not taking anything for granted. “I’m starting to realize that humility is just more important than ever right now,” he said. “Just keeping a hold of that because it’s a long way down if you get with the hype.”

Harlow also announced his Come Home The Kids Miss You Tour, which kicks off September 6 in Nashville, Tennessee. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 11, at 10 a.m. local time.

Escaped murder suspect may be ‘extremely violent’ without medication: Sheriff

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Authorities are concerned that escaped Florence, Alabama, murder suspect Casey White could be “extremely violent” without his medication, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton told ABC News on Monday.

The sheriff did not provide details as to what the medication is or what Casey White’s being treated for, but said the concern is due to the escapee likely not having the medication with him.

Casey White, 38, fled the Lauderdale County jail with Lauderdale County Assistant Director of Corrections Vicky White, 56, on April 29. The inmate and employee are not related.

Casey White was facing two counts of capital murder for allegedly stabbing a woman to death in 2015, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Singleton said that Vicky White was seen shopping for men’s clothes at a Kohl’s before the pair went missing.

Authorities said they believe Vicky White willingly participated in the escape, which took place on her last day before retirement.

The duo fled Alabama in a Ford Edge and ditched the car in Williamson County, Tennessee — about a two-hour drive north of Florence — just hours after the jail break.

They may be armed with weapons including an AR-15 rifle and a shotgun, the U.S. Marshals Service said.

A warrant was issued for Vicky White charging her with permitting or facilitating escape.

A $15,000 reward is available for information leading to Casey White’s capture. A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Vicky White.

Former NBA player Adreian Payne shot to death in Orlando

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ORLANDO, Fla.) — Adreian Payne, a former first-round NBA draft pick and star collegiate basketball player at Michigan State, was shot and killed early Monday in Orlando, Florida, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Payne was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks at No. 15 overall in 2014 and played for the Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic during a five-year NBA career.

He was 31 years old.

The former player was shot at a home in Orlando at about 1:30 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The suspect shooter, Lawrence Dority, 29, stayed at the scene after the shooting and was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder, the sheriff’s office said. He is being held at Orange County Jail.

The sheriff’s office does not have a motive for the shooting.

Payne won over hearts during the 2014 NCAA Tournament by befriending a young girl fighting cancer named Lacey Holsworth. Payne met the 8-year-old, who was battling neuroblastoma, on a team visit to a local hospital several years earlier and struck up a friendship. When the Michigan State Spartans won the Big Ten title in 2014, Payne let her cut down the net.

Holsworth died of cancer on April 8, 2014 — just three weeks after the Spartans won the conference title.

After his five years in the NBA, Payne had a successful career playing in Europe. The 6-foot-10 center played in Greece, China, France, Turkey and Lithuania. He won a Greek league title with powerhouse Panathinaikos in 2018 and French league team ASVEL in 2019. ASVEL posted a photo of him holding the championship trophy on Twitter and called the news “terribly shocking.”

Payne played for Juventus Utena, in Lithuania, as recently as February.

“So sad to hear that former Michigan State star Adreian Payne passed away at the age of 31,” ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas wrote on Twitter. “AP was an outstanding player for Tom Izzo, and befriended Lacey Holsworth through her battle with cancer. RIP Adreian Payne.”

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, who was a teammate of Payne at Michigan State, posted several broken heart emojis on Monday morning.

Woman suspected in slayings of boyfriend, brother found dead

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A 22-year-old Michigan woman was found dead from an apparent suicide after authorities alleged she fatally shot her boyfriend and brother in what appeared to be a premeditated act of gun violence.

The body of Ruby Taverner was discovered in a wooded area in Independence Township, Michigan, near her apartment, where deputies found her brother and boyfriend dead early Sunday, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Monday. Taverner apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Bouchard said.

“It’s a terrible situation. It always seems to be magnified when you get someone who commits something horrible like that — a homicide — and then kills themselves,” Bouchard said. “You almost wonder what was the point to this whole thing? You never get any answers that satisfy those questions because, now, all parties are deceased.”

Bouchard said deputies were called to the Independence Square Apartments in Independence Township, about 16 miles north of Pontiac, after a neighbor reported being awakened by gunshots coming from Taverner’s apartment around 3:20 a.m. Sunday.

Deputies entered the apartment and discovered the bodies of Taverner’s brother, 25-year-old Bishop Taverner, in the living room and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Ray Muscat in a rear bedroom, according to a sheriff’s officials. Ruby Taverner and Muscat lived together, Bouchard said.

Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds, Bouchard said. He said Bishop Taverner was shot once in the head.

He said investigators suspect that after allegedly committing the homicides, Taverner fled the apartment on foot, leaving behind her cellphone and car.

Bouchard said detectives are trying to determine a motive for the double slaying, and a preliminary investigation indicates the killings were premeditated.

“You don’t typically find someone shot in the head one time unless they just kind of coolly and calmly walked up and did it,” Bouchard said.

Sheriff’s deputies combed the area around the apartment complex for evidence and were searching a nearby lake on Sunday, but Bouchard did not immediately say if that was where Taverner’s body was located.

He said records show Taverner had three registered firearms, including two 9mm handguns and a .38 caliber pistol. One of the weapons was legally purchased last week, according to the sheriff. Bouchard had warned local residents on Sunday that investigators suspected Taverner was armed and dangerous.

2022 Tony Nominees: ’A Strange Loop,’ ‘MJ,’ Jesse Williams, Uzo Aduba, Phylicia Rashad and more

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Nominations for the 2022 Tony Awards are in, and leading the pack this year with 11 nominations is Michael R. Jackson‘s “Big, Black & Queer American Musical,” A Strange Loop.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play — which made its world premiere in 2019 and its Broadway debut on April 26 of this year — earned recognition in categories such as Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Musical.

A Strange Loop follows Usher who, according to Playwrights Horizons, “is a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical.”

Closely following Michael R. Jackson’s multi-award winning play is a musical based on another Jackson: MJ, centered around Michael Jackson‘s life and music, which earned 10 nominations, including Best Musical. MJ is also up for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, for Myles Frost‘s portrayal of the superstar.

Nominated for Best Actress in a Featured Role is Broadway star Kenita R. Miller for for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. The Ntozake Shange production which originally premiered in 1976, earned seven total nominations including Best Revival of a Play.

Also recognized for Best Revival is Take Me. Having won the coveted Best Play award in 2003, the baseball coming-out story is nominated this year in three other categories, including Best Actor in a Featured Role, which recognizes Grey’s Anatomy alum Jesse Williams.

Phylicia Rashad and Uzo Aduba are nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role for their work in Skeleton Crew and Clyde’s.

The 75th annual Tony Awards will take place live from Radio City Music Hall in New York on Sunday, June 12 at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Radiohead side project The Smile releases new song, “Thin Thing”

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood have released another new song with their Radiohead side project, The Smile.

The track is called “Thin Thing,” and is available now via digital outlets. It’s accompanied by a stop-motion animated video, which is streaming now on YouTube.

“Hearing the song for the first time, we imagined a frenetic fluid that carries machines, pieces of human bodies and carnivorous plants,” video directors Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña say. “When presenting the idea to the band, Thom told us about a dream that made him write the song. We believe the video is the conjunction of these two things.”

“Thin Thing” will appear on the upcoming debut Smile album A Light for Attracting Attention, due out this Friday, May 13. It follows the previously released songs “You Will Never Work in Television Again,” “Pana-Vision,” “The Smoke,” “Free in the Knowledge” and “Skrting on the Surface.”

The Smile, which also features drummer Tom Skinner of the band Sons of Kemet, made their live debut last year at the Glastonbury 2021 livestream event. They’ll launch their first full-length tour, which includes dates in Europe and the U.K., next week.

Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish are rule breakers, according to Travis Barker

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish aren’t necessarily pop-punk, says Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, but that’s not stopping him from digging their music.

Travis told Billboard that, while he respects the two young Grammy winners, statements that they’re pop-punk artists are misguided. “I like Olivia’s album [SOUR], I love everything Billie’s done. I won’t say, ‘This is pop-punk,'” he explained, saying instead their music is “inspired by pop-punk” — and he loves that.

“Everyone has been inspired by everything for so long — it just got louder this year,” he noted. “…It doesn’t mean that it’s just pop-punk or has to be categorized like that.”

The drummer continued, “Olivia Rodrigo is probably going to make an album that has a little bit of pop-punk influence and some other influences, too. Like, Billie’s going to make whatever magical music she’s going to make and she’s going to be inspired by so much.”

“You don’t have to follow the rules,” Travis said of what it takes to make good music, “Or keep it as sterile as the record label or whatever the rollout plan may be. It might be more exciting the other way.”

Olivia and Billie have both spoken out about their appreciation for the genre and its ability to channel emotions a certain way.

Olivia has been performing a few pop punk covers while on her SOUR Tour. She’s performed Avril Lavigne‘s “Complicated” on several stops and was even joined by the pop punk princess when performing in Toronto earlier this month.

Travis recently assisted Avril with her new album, LOVE SUX, and played drums on eight of the album’s 12 songs.

Ringo Starr accepts honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music via virtual speech: “I’m a doctor at last”

May 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

On Saturday, Ringo Starr was presented with an honorary doctorate by Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music as part of the renowned school’s 2022 commencement festivities.

The former Beatles drummer was not in attendance at the event, but accepted the honor virtually via a pre-recorded video.

“I send you all peace and love, everybody,” Ringo began his speech. “I’m sorry I can’t be with you today in person, but I do want to congratulate the Class of 2022, yeah! Well done, graduates. And I want to thank you for the honorary doctorate degree. I’m a doctor at last.”

The 81-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer continued, “I never went to college, but I certainly have had a lot of experience making music, so I suppose I earned this in my own way.”

Starr then noted the great experiences he playing with different bands, including his early group Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, followed by The Beatles, and then his current All Starr Band.

Ringo concluded his speech by saying, “If I could wish anything for you, it would be that the passion and love that you have for making music…continues to guide you through wherever your career takes you next. It’s great when the success happens, and Berklee students have seen a lot of it…but it’s important to remember that’s not what this is all about. For each of us, it started with a dream to play music. And may your dream keep unfolding for you, as it has for me.”

Also receiving honorary doctorates from Berklee on Saturay were R&B singer and Berklee alumna Lalah Hathaway, award-winning composer and producer James Newton Howard, and acclaimed bass player Chuck Rainey.

For more details about Berklee’s 2022 commencement event, visit Berklee.edu.

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